Did Crothers die when the Movie came out?? And if he hasnt passed away you think Jazz would of been in Season 3 with a role? And on to Casey Kasem if he didnt leave the show you think Cliffjumper would of been in Season 3 with a role aswell?

I actually kinda doubt it. I think one of the most underestimated reasons why season 3 failed is because even the season 1 characters who weren't shown being killed or dead had no significant role post-movie. The reason I think it matters?

It would have been a whole lot less jarring to see Rodimus rubbing shoulders with Optimus' most trusted lieutenants. Having guys like Jazz and Bumblebee shown establishing a rapport with Rodimus would have made Rodimus seem more legitimate, and could have reduced the rate of fallout after Optimus' death. Like, Optimus is gone, but at least the new guy has a tangible, living connection to him. Shoving in the term "old friend" in the movie when Optimus addressed Ultra Magnus just didn't seem to do the trick.

Did Crothers die when the Movie came out?? And if he hasnt passed away you think Jazz would of been in Season 3 with a role? And on to Casey Kasem if he didnt leave the show you think Cliffjumper would of been in Season 3 with a role aswell?

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Both Jazz and Cliffjumper weren't killed off in the movie even though there were plenty of opportunities to do so.

So I think these 2 characters probably were in the plan for season 3.

But when Crothers died and Kasem left, then the writers had no choice but to put them in the cast of non-speaking background characters.

There were a lot of characters who werent seen to die in the movie, especially from the season 2 cast. But since jazz and cliffjumper no longer had toys to sell, it's likely they would have become background characters anyway.

There were a lot of characters who werent seen to die in the movie, especially from the season 2 cast. But since jazz and cliffjumper no longer had toys to sell, it's likely they would have become background characters anyway.

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But they were 2 of the supporting characters that did get a lot of screen time in the movie, just like the dinos, perceptor, blaster, bumblebee, and Spike (all of which were still speaking characters in season 3).
The other season 1-2 characters that became background characters (sunstreaker, sideswipe, hound, warpath, etc) didnt even have speaking rolls in the movie. So these characters were def getting the boot.
I think crothers dying and kasem leaving just added jazz and CJ to the list.

The other thing to remember is, in the first episode of the season 3 opener, "Five Faces of Darkness," there is a race featuring a car that looks just like Jazz. But they end up naming it something else. It seems likely that Jazz was written into that storyline, and planned as an available character moving forward. But once Scatman died, the writers changed plans.

In Five Faces of Darkness part 1, I am pretty sure they refer to Jazz by name as the car in that race.

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^They actually don't. It cuts away to Blurr bitching about not being there, then when it cuts back to the olympics, it says something about the winner being "Munka Spanka" or something like that. It's not clear if they're talking about the Jazz robot or something else, since it cut away

The other thing to remember is, in the first episode of the season 3 opener, "Five Faces of Darkness," there is a race featuring a car that looks just like Jazz. But they end up naming it something else. It seems likely that Jazz was written into that storyline, and planned as an available character moving forward. But once Scatman died, the writers changed plans.

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I always thought this as well. I also believe if Transformers carried on past the Rebirth, then we'd see more of Starscream.

Also, guys like Blaster, Perceptor and the Dinobots had toys that were introduced in 85, and at that time, toys were out for two years. Since season 3 aired in 86, we see those characters prominently since it was during the second year that their toys were being sold. If you notice, we don't see Perceptor or the Dinobots in the Return of Optimus Prime, and Blaster is relegated to a non-speaking role. Incidentally, RoOP came out in 87 when those toys were effectively being phased out.

The other thing to remember is, in the first episode of the season 3 opener, "Five Faces of Darkness," there is a race featuring a car that looks just like Jazz. But they end up naming it something else. It seems likely that Jazz was written into that storyline, and planned as an available character moving forward. But once Scatman died, the writers changed plans.

The other thing to remember is, in the first episode of the season 3 opener, "Five Faces of Darkness," there is a race featuring a car that looks just like Jazz. But they end up naming it something else.

Both Jazz and Cliffjumper weren't killed off in the movie even though there were plenty of opportunities to do so.

So I think these 2 characters probably were in the plan for season 3.

But when Crothers died and Kasem left, then the writers had no choice but to put them in the cast of non-speaking background characters.

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That is almost certainly true. Kasem and Crothers are bankable names, this is almost certainly why Cliff and Jazz are specifically shown to survive the film. Jazz is one of the first Transformers you see in "The Five Faces of Darkness." One has to assume they intended him to remain a principal character.

But it's not like Rodimus had NONE of the original Autobots to hang out with.. Grimlock and Perceptor found their roles increased in Season 3, and Bumblebee, while not as ubiquitous as he was earlier, was certainly around.